Vietnam's Jan-Oct FDI pledges jump 11.8 percent on-year

South Korea remains the key investor, providing over a quarter of total FDI pledges.

Vietnam received an estimated $14.2 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 10 months of this year, up 11.8 percent from the same period in 2016, the government said on Wednesday.

FDI pledges for new projects, increased capital and stake acquisitions jumped 37.4 percent from a year earlier to $28.24 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Department.

FDI is a major source of foreign exchange for Vietnam, which along with overseas remittances help improve the country's trade balance.

As of October, the manufacturing and processing industries had attracted $13.75 billion in FDI pledges and additional funds, followed by the real estate sector and the wholesale/retail sector, the report said.

South Korea remained the top investor with $7.62 billion, or 27 percent of the total investment, followed by Japan and Singapore.

Vietnam’s FDI inflow this year is expected to hit a record high of $16 billion.